The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (the “Department”) has issued a mandatory employee notice regarding the NJ Earned Sick Leave Law, which goes into effect on October 29, 2018. As we have previously reported, the Law will require employers to provide eligible employees with paid leave for their own medical needs, those of a family member, or other covered reasons.
By October 29, 2018, employers will be required to “conspicuously post the notification in a place or places accessible to all employees in each of the employer’s workplaces.” The notice must be posted in the language that is the “first language of a majority of the employer’s workforce,” and the Department is expected shortly to issue versions of the notice in ten languages other than English.
Notably, the proposed rules for the Law state that posting the notice on “an internet site or intranet site” made available by an employer “for exclusive use by its employees and to which all employees have access” would satisfy the conspicuous posting requirement. However, it is important to note that the proposed rules are currently open for public comment through December 14, 2018, and therefore will not be finalized before the Law’s October 29 effective date.
Employers are also required to provide all current employees with a written copy of the notice either in hard copy or via e-mail no later than November 29, 2018 (as stated on the notice). Interestingly, the November 29 distribution deadline set forth on the notice appears to conflict with the language of the Law itself (as well as the proposed rules), which both state that distribution of the notice to current employees shall occur “not later than 30 days after the form of the notification is issued,” which would place the distribution date at or around November 2, 2018. As such, employers may wish to distribute the notice to current employees at or around the Law’s October 29 effective date to ensure full compliance with the law. Employers must also provide copies of the notice to employees upon request, and new employees must be provided with a copy of the notice at the time of hire.
We will continue to track further developments regarding the Law in lead up to the October 29 effective date.